


Breaking The Limit

by SilverHalos88



Series: Time Limited Love [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, F/M, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Outshine The Stars, Paradox, Reapers, Romantic Angst, Series Finale, Stars, Temporal Paradox, date, romantic, this made me happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29663391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverHalos88/pseuds/SilverHalos88
Summary: “Everything is perfect, the world has been set to rights. There’s no longer any need to run or hide. As the Doctor flies from date to date with a free Missy, exploring all of time and space, it seems that at last everything is fine. In fact, it’s always been fine. There was never anything to worry about at all. Certainly no shadows, racing through time like hounds chasing a scent, determined to put right a wrong that has been hidden in plain sight. Some secrets are worth fighting for, even if it puts the whole universe at risk…”This is the ninth and technically final part of my ongoing 12th Doctor/Missy story which sees them as an established couple trying to keep their relationship alive in spite of seemingly overwhelming forces trying to stop them (there’s only the epilogue left after this!). It’s the climax! This is perhaps the part I’ve been most looking forward to writing, but it’s also the most difficult, so bear with me because I have no idea if this is going to turn out the way I hope it will… I’m not a fan of endings, so fingers crossed!(Also multi chapter because this was longer than I first planned lol)
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Missy
Series: Time Limited Love [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103555
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

The candles flickered peacefully in the evening air.  
There were hundreds of them, spread around the open-air balcony and nestled amongst the vines that had wrapped around the masonry and columns. The area was like a scene out of ancient Greece, with shining white marble columns standing guard over beautiful fountains and stunning statues that had been lovingly recruited from a lost period of Earth history. You would have been forgiven for thinking you had stepped back in time if it wasn’t for the sky; a vast swirling nebula stretched from horizon to horizon. It was huge mass of dust coalescing around the remains of an ancient super star that had long ago exploded. The left-over remnants had retained enough gravity to capture hundreds of passing gas clouds over the eons, creating a mixture that glowed with hundreds of shades of pink, red and orange. The entire cloud was lit from within as countless new stars begun their stellar journeys, bursting into life from within the safe confines of the star nursery, making it constantly twinkle as their light filtered through the dust particles. It was like someone had thrown glitter into the heart of the nebula, and was breath taking every time you saw it, even to those who lived here year-round. There was no sun on this world, just an endless night lit up by the sparkling nebula.   
It was a remarkable place, and the perfect spot for an anniversary date.  
With a nervous glance, the Doctor looked over the menu again. He wasn’t craving anything in particular, and everything on offer looked delicious. He was tempted to just close his eyes and pick one at random, but hopefully his partner would be more decisive. As if on cue, a figure appeared in the archway that marked the entrance to the balcony restaurant.  
Missy looked brighter than any star in the sky.   
She wore a TARDIS blue dress that flowed effortlessly as she walked. Speaking briefly to the host, she quickly made her way across the marble tile floor and to the table the Doctor had chosen. It was in the corner, against the railing, so as well as the magnificent sky they could look out at the fields of luminous blue grass that stretched between a distant city on one side and a mountain and lake on the other. He stood as she approached, the smile on his face being matched only by hers.   
“Twice in one week. I do feel blessed.” Missy said as she leaned in and kissed him. The Doctor closed his eyes, savouring the taste of her lips.   
“I would spend everyday with you if I could, but alas…”  
“Work always getting in the way.” Missy said as the Doctor pulled out her chair for her. The Doctor nodded and joined her on the other side of the table.   
“It just means we have to make the most of our time together.” He said as he held up his glass. Missy picked up hers and clinked it with his.  
“Well, let the good times roll, or whatever that saying is.” She said as she took a sip of the wine. The Doctor nodded.   
“Close enough.”  
The next three hours passed all too quickly. The pair spent the time eating and drinking and talking about the old times, talking about everything and nothing really. The conversation didn’t really matter; it was just the fact that they were together. That, and the fact that no one was trying to kill or arrest them. In fact, no one even so much as looked at them. By all appearances, they were just another normal couple taking in the view.  
“And then one of the rogue generals actually tried to recruit me! Right there, as they were being arrested! I was kind of impressed by the audacity of it honestly. It didn’t save them though. No, that’s one less rogue army harassing the Kabulax cluster.” Missy said, finishing her story before finishing the last of her wine. The Doctor chuckled.  
“Sounds like quite the ordeal.” The Doctor said, losing himself in the light in her eyes.   
“If you keep looking at me like that I won’t be held responsible for what happens next.” She joked, though there was a hint of lust in her voice.   
“I wish I could, really, but this was only a flying visit.” He said, glancing at the watch on his wrist.  
“People to save, places to pull out of the fire, right?” Missy said knowingly, though she found her eyes drawn to the watch. She had never known this version of him to wear one, but almost as soon as her eyes settled on it they flicked away, caught by the sound of his voice.  
“Something like that. I’ll see you soon though. Next time you can even stay over. The TARDIS has been missing you.”  
“And so she should. But the Shadow Proclamation would be at an utter loss without me. Complete loss. Fools really. I do look forward to our trips though. You should see the one I’ve got planned next.” She said mischievously, making the Doctor laugh.  
“I look forward to it.” The Doctor said, and for a moment they sat there, enjoying the evening air and the warmth of the candles. Without saying a word, the Doctor reached across the table and took Missy’s hand. She smiled, and then they both looked out at the nebula. Then the Doctor took a breath and tensed.  
“Are you happy, Missy?” The Doctor asked suddenly. Missy glanced at him, but his eyes were fixed firmly on the horizon.   
“Why, are you planning on ruining our date?” She asked, but he didn’t reply. “I’ll admit it, I never saw working with the Proclamation in my future, but weirdly, its working out. I get to kill as many bad people as I want, I’ve got free access to all kinds of high-tech toys, and I’ve got an entire empire at my beck and call, more or less. It’s great. And the best part of all, I get to travel with you whenever I want. So yes, I’m happy. A bizarre, unexpected happiness, but a happiness nonetheless.” She squeezed his hand. The Doctor smiled again, but it was a strange smile, one that almost seemed to be full of relief. He seemed to be on the edge of saying something, but then his watched beeped. He let out a long sigh.  
“It’s time for me to go. I can’t wait until next time.” The Doctor said as he let go of her hand and stood up. He crossed over to Missy’s side of the table and wrapped his arms around her, then placed a kiss on her cheek. “I love you.”  
“You better, leaving me with the check. Stay safe Doctor, don’t run too fast.” Missy said as she nuzzled her cheek against his for a moment. A moment passed, and then he was gone. Missy didn’t dare turn back to watch him go. Even now that was still hard for her, but it didn’t hurt anymore. No, she thought as she watched the twinkling stars in the nebula. There was nothing to cry about.  
She really was happy. 

The TARDIS hung motionless in space, not even spinning. It was like a seized engine, unable to do anything more than groan in frustration. Inside the main control room, almost every screen showed an error code as the various systems struggled to compensate for the situation it found itself in. Only one screen showed anything different. It was one of the feeds to the outside cameras, showing a picture of thousands of different dots of light.  
It was a picture that the thirteenth Doctor found herself constantly returning to.  
Out here, in the space between galactic clusters, she knew most of the lights were actually far-off galaxies themselves, though a few were rogue stars that had gone off like brave pioneers into the darkness. A lot of the lights she knew; thousands, hundreds of thousands of details and stories from so many different worlds and systems, all over that quadrant of the universes. Yet for every star or planet she knew in detail, there were a million more that were little more than mysteries to her. Normally that would excite her, but right now even the ones she knew brought her no comfort.   
Everything was off. She had felt it from the moment the TARDIS had suffered whatever malfunction had left it crippled. The stars looked the same, but there was something odd about them, something wrong. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the feeling was everywhere, even in the very air inside the TARDIS. It was maddening, and if she wasn’t so busy running around zapping everything she could with her screwdriver she probably would have thought herself into coma trying to figure out its cause. There was one thing she was certain of though, she thought as she looked at the scanner panel on the control console, and at the item it held in a containment field.  
Whatever had happened, it was connected to the destroyed laser/sonic screwdriver she had found in the vault. And whatever it was, she wasn’t going to stop until she found out.

Missy pulled the sheet over her shoulder, snuggling closer to the Doctor as he still slept. He was so warm, like her own personal radiator. The room was silent aside from the sound of his rapid breathing. As carefully as she could, she edged herself up the pillow so she could see his face. Even asleep, his still wore a look of stress, as though even his dreams were filled with battles that she couldn’t imagine. He fingers slowly traced a path up over his chest, up his neck and to his cheek, but then paused. A moment passed. Missy snapped her hand away. The temptation to peer into his mind, to see what troubled him, had only existed for a moment and had been born out of her desire to help him. She had pushed the idea away as soon as it had entered her mind. It would be wrong to enter his consciousness, regardless of what good intentions she might have. She smiled. That was a character development win if there ever was one, but it still annoyed her.   
Something was wrong with the Doctor. She had been sensing it for a while now. He was different, happy but always on the edge. It was difficult though. The more she thought about it the more the thoughts seemed foreign to her, almost insulting. Before she even knew it the thoughts were gone, replaced by more pleasant thoughts. She saw the memories of her time with the Shadow Proclamation. After her time in the vault had come to an end, she had decided she needed a new purpose in her life. Her former life as a queen of evil had made her a natural talent in fighting the forces of darkness, and so the Proclamation had welcomed her into its ranks. The Doctor had to pull some strings to make it work out, but he had been extremely supportive of her desire to do something with her life, even if it meant not travelling with him as much. She missed seeing him all the time, but they were closer now than they ever had been in the past. And she still got to travel and join him on his adventures, though she couldn’t remember the last time she had been in the TARDIS. She knew it had been recently…   
“Is that a vision of beauty I see before me?” The Doctor asked sleepily as he returned to the realm of the awake. Missy grinned.   
“Shut up.” She said playfully before snuggling close to him again. She placed her head on his chest and listened to the beat of his hearts. They seemed to calm now that he was awake again.   
“Did you sleep well?” He asked before losing a fight against a yawn.   
“Better than you.” She said quickly before she could stop herself, and for a moment that same nagging feeling came back. But then the worries vanished again. “Right, what do you fancy for breakfast?” She added, then kicked off the covers like an excited child. She felt the Doctor’s eyes fall appreciatively on her nude form and she deliberately shook her butt teasingly before grabbing her robe and wrapping it around herself.  
“I thought you wanted a lie in?” He asked as he sat up. Across the room, Missy pressed a button on the wall and the black glass that filled the far wall turned transparent, revealing the sky touched cityscape of Hexion city. A sprawling hub city for a hundred different worlds, the metropolis stretched over half a continent and was characterized by thousands of super skyscrapers that filled the air, looking every bit like high tech futuristic monoliths. Sophisticated terraforming technology kept the air in the city pristine at all times. There wasn’t even a cloud in the sky, making the view stunning. From up here, high in the penthouse of one of the skyscrapers, you could practically see the whole city, a bustling hive of constant activity, as well as the curve of the planet. At the top of the view, a hint of darkness threatened to creep down and envelop the tops of the very highest towers, revealing the thinning atmosphere. It was an incredible example of marvellous engineering, so of course Missy had bought an apartment here. Well, won one to be more correct. The game of chance was meant to have been fair, but in the end she had just been better at cheating than everyone else.   
“What can I saw? I changed my mind. That happens when you lose your mind after a wild night of passion. Plus it’s not very often I get you for days at a time, so let’s not waste another moment. What do you fancy? My treat.” Missy said as she picked up a phone-like receiver from the wall control panel she had used to change the glass.  
“Are you an option? I’ll take another helping of that if there’s any left over?” He said with a smirk, knowing his words would both irritate and charm her at the same time. It was a delicate balance they had both mastered. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t hide her smile.   
“You are utterly ridiculous. But yes, I think another serving can be dished up.” She said as she raced back to the bed. She almost jumped onto this lap, a leg either side of his hips as he embraced her. They kissed warmly, deeply, the heat between them growing by the second.  
That’s when the Doctor’s watch beeped.   
He broke the kiss and pulled back, looking at his wrist, a deep thrown settling on his face. He looked back at her and then at the watch, the conflict that was filling him clear to see.  
“What is it?” Missy said, instantly concerned. The Doctor’s gaze matched hers. Missy found herself speechless. The torment swirling in his eyes was like a thunderstorm, trying to escape.   
“I have to go. Believe me, I really don’t want to, but I have too.” The Doctor said as he gently pushed her off him. As soon as he was free he was moving around the room, pulling on his clothes.   
“Doctor, tell me what’s wrong.” Missy said firmly as she watched him get ready. He barely glanced at her.   
“Nothing, nothing at all. Just a pressing prior engagement. Unfortunately it’s one I can’t get away from.” He said hurriedly. Missy was next to him before he even had a chance to argue.  
“Why are you afraid? Let me help you.” She said, putting a hand on his arm. He looked at her for a moment, but then something shifted inside him. She could practically feel the fear flowing through him, like ice water that had been injected into her veins. It almost stopped her hearts for a second, and she couldn’t think until the Doctor finally pulled his arm away.   
“There’s nothing wrong, I promise.” He lied. She knew he was lying, but before she could say anything he was already gone, the door closing behind him.   
All Missy could do was stand there and wonder what had happened, but the alarm was already fading.

It was almost done.   
The thirteenth Doctor couldn’t help but smile with glee. It had taken her days to rewire the dozens of systems that had been affected by the shockwave. In essence, everything had been thrown out of sync. That was the key. Nothing was really broken, it was just out of tune. The chrono dampers were on the wrong keys, the engines firing at the wrong frequencies. It was like the whole TARDIS has been shifted into dozens of different settings, all of which we competing with each other to try and get everything else back on track. In the end all they succeeded in doing was locking everything up, which made getting to the real root of the issue all the more difficult. And all the while, the stars continued to shine in that odd way, the familiar-yet-not sensation that made it clear something was wrong. Yet now, she finally knew what was wrong with the stars, with the universe, with every moment and every atom. Or at least she thought she did. It was a hunch really, but it was a good hunch, and she had no other options.   
With a determined smile, the Doctor pulled the activation lever. Her smile grew even brighter as the central control console came alive, and the familiar groan filled her ears. She looked at the screen that showed the readouts from the destroyed laser/sonic screwdriver. The signal was still as strong as it was before, when she had first locked onto it. She entered the coordinates and a moment later, the TARDIS was on its way.   
This time, there would be no stopping her from reaching the end of this mystery.

Missy sat on the swing in the park, idly kicking her legs. She smiled as the Doctor said his goodbyes and headed off down the gravel trail the wound between the high orange trees. She waited until he was almost out of sight. That’s when she sprung into action, darting behind an opposing column of trees and pulling the tracker out of her pocket. It was one of the many toys she could get her hands on thanks to the Shadow Proclamation, and it was more than capable of locking onto the Doctor. Moving fast but stealthily, she quickly caught up to him, determined that today would be the day.   
No more wondering. That’s the decision she had made, the last time the Doctor had rushed off from one of their dates. There were too many things that didn’t add up, too many questions whose answer scurried away to the shadows as soon as she tried to seek them out. All she knew was that the Doctor was hiding something, something that had to do with that infernal watch of his, and she was going to find out what.   
The sudden soothing was like a silky river of chocolate sliding into her mind.  
No, not again, Missy thought as she shook her head and blinked. In an instant the firewalls were up, safeguarding her higher mental functions. It had taken her a while to realise that something was off about the happiness she had been feeling. It was real, there was no doubt about that, but there was something more to it, something that used her own desire for happiness to slip inside her mind and cloud her thinking, her memories. She had been blinded to things that were obvious, things she should have picked up on in an instant, and instead had found herself lost in a world that was fundamentally wrong. There was no other way of putting it; there was something off about the universe, and she had spent too long not doing something about it.  
There was the TARDIS. The Doctor had said that they had been on plenty of trips together since she had joined the Shadow Proclamation, but since she had regained control of her mind she found herself unable to recall a single one. That changed now. The Doctor had just put the key in the door when she leapt out at him. He barely had time to register what was going on before she slammed into him and they were both falling through the door and into the TARDIS.   
“No more running off Doctor. I want answers.” Missy said as she pushed herself to her feet. The TARDIS looked exactly how she remembered it, but the moment she looked at the central control console she knew something was wrong. Behind her, the Doctor climbed to his feet, already panicking.   
“Missy you can’t be here. I need you to leave right now, there’s not much time.” The Doctor said quickly. A second later, his watch beeped urgently. He glanced at it and then back at the open door, then made a decision. He rushed for the control console and started flipping switches and pressing buttons.   
“Doctor what is it?” She asked as the TARDIS came to life. He didn’t respond, just quickened his pace around the controls. As he did, a new sound from outside the door took her attention. There was the sound of screeching and screams, the unmistakable noise of destruction and energy being unleashed. She crossed over to the doorway and peered out.  
She would have recognised the multi-wing, multi-clawed forms of the reapers anywhere.   
The demonic, gargoyle like creatures swarmed over the park like diving falcons. In the background, near the city, even more chrono portals were being ripped into the fabric of reality, allowing more of them to pour out. Within moments the sky was thick with soaring red eyes and the sound of screams. It had been a long time since Missy had seen so many of them in one place. She shut the door as the TARDIS begun to dematerialize.   
“What did you do?” Missy asked softly as she joined the Doctor at the control console, still trying to shake off the shook of seeing so many reapers. It was more than that though. The implications of their presence was beginning to set in, and it made her throat tighten at what he was about to say. As the TARDIS reached the safety of the time vortex, the Doctor looked at her, his eyes dark.  
“I did what I had to.” 

“You were dead. The Shadow Proclamation had found out about our relationship. They had deemed it a threat, were worried that you might corrupt me and then they’d have two rogue timelords running the universe. They started hunting us. In the end we couldn’t outrun them. They killed Bill. Then they killed you. There was only one thing I could do.” The Doctor said as his eyes focused on some unseen distant point, seeing not the wall of the TARDIS but instead images that had been burnt into his memory.   
“You changed time.” Missy said, sitting opposite him on the floor of the TARDIS. The Doctor nodded.  
“I couldn’t lose you. Not again, not like that. I couldn’t take that pain.” He said without looking at her. There was a moment of silence as Missy thought.   
“How bad is it?” She asked finally. The Doctor let out a joyless laugh.  
“Oh its quite the catastrophe, you’d be very impressed. To be fair though, I didn’t realise it was going to get this bad. It’s all gotten out of hand.”   
“Yes, that’s what happens when you play with the butterfly effect.” Missy said.  
“It was easy enough at first. I had to go back and act as a secret chaperone for all our trips out, tracking anyone and anything that could alert the Shadow Proclamation about us. That actually helped in convincing them you could be trusted in round about way. The problems came after, with our regenerations. When you died, we were preparing a way to hack our next regenerations so we could keep our current minds and personalities. I’d already peaked into the future, our regenerations were rapidly approaching. It took everything we had to figure out a way around it, but we did it. We were about to put it into action when we were ambushed. I thought it would be simple, I really did. Stop the Proclamation from hunting us, and then just simply divert the colony ship away from the black hole. That way it would never have gotten into trouble, we wouldn’t have gone to help it and there’d be no regenerations. What could go wrong with that? Turns out everything.”  
“They were fixed points, weren’t they? That’s why the reapers have gone all berserk.” Missy guessed correctly. The Doctor nodded.   
“Quite so. Turns out the universe thinks we’re pretty important in the grand scheme of things. Who would have guessed?” He said dryly.   
“Well, one of us at least.” Missy said, trying to lighten the mood a little. He gave her an empty smile, causing her to frown. “So what else? There’s more, isn’t there?”  
“Yes.” The Doctor nodded again, though there was a reluctance to him. “Ever since I created this, this paradox universe, the reapers have been after me. I, and the TARDIS, are the epicenter of the disruption. The reapers have been after us ever since. I rigged up this monitor watch to give me a warning about when they were getting close. Sometimes it takes them a while, others… just minutes. I’ve been looking for a way to stop them, to stabilize the paradox. It’s taken me centuries, but every time I go somewhere the risk increases. That’s why I’ve haven’t let you-” The Doctor tried to catch himself, but it was already too late. Missy’s eyes were on him like laser sights.   
“Why you haven’t let me what, Doctor?” She asked forcibly. Around them, the TARDIS hummed in agreement with her. The Doctor stood up and turned away from her, his head dropped low.  
“I want you to understand, I couldn’t risk losing you again. And I didn’t want to see you suffer. I love you too much Missy. I love you, and it scares me to death. So I made a choice, a horrible, torturously painful choice, and you’re going to hate me for it.” He said slowly, every syllable filled with agony.   
It was like an arrow piecing through the air between them.   
“The fogginess of my mind. You put a block in my mind, didn’t you?” Missy said, connecting the dots as all the walls finally fell away. Her entire life had been missing something, and now she knew what.  
“I’m so sorry Missy. You’re at the heart of the storm too, you see. The reapers would target you, too. By editing your memory slightly, by keeping you away from here, away from the TARDIS, I was able to keep you safe. I wanted to give you a life you would enjoy, and one where we got to see each other as much as possible. Our relationship was always real, I promise.” The Doctor explained as he finally turned to face her. Missy’s face was a picture of quiet rage and brooding fury. She was breathing quickly, her hands griping the railing she was leaning against so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.   
“After all the things they did to me, you did the same thing.” She said softly, her voice seething as she remembered how she had suffered at the hands of the Timelords and their experimental attempts to ‘cure’ her. The Doctor said nothing. It was the wrong move. Missy exploded. “You did the same thing! You violated my mind! How dare you?! I trusted you!”  
The laser blast came quickly. In the blink of an eyes, Missy had pulled out the laser/sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the first thing she figured wouldn’t explode the TARDIS. The bookcase the blast hit instantly turned to ash, sending the books it had been holding flying across the room. She shot a chair next, then two of the light orbs on the other side of the room. The TARDIS actually seemed to be hissing in agreement with her, and in that moment she realised the TARDIS must have been fighting for her the entire time. Even in an alternate timeline, they had still become friends. After a few seconds, and with a handful of sparks and small fires littering the room, she let her hand drop.   
“I’m sorry.” The Doctor said. Missy walked over to him, not sure what she was going to do. Her hearts were pounding and her hand, the one that still held the deadly hybrid device, shaking.  
“Why? Why didn’t you trust me? How could you do it? We were past all that, we had spent centuries getting past that! I, I don’t even know who you are.” She said, shaking her head. She raised her hand and for a moment, a darkness that had been buried for a long time crossed her face. But then she thought better of it. The look was washed away, replaced with one that did nothing to hide the pain, betrayal and disgust she was feeling. She turned and walked away, heading for one of the hallways, not caring where in the ship she would end up.   
“I watched you die! I watched you die and there was nothing I could do to stop it!” The Doctor called after her. Missy paused and looked back at him. Something wasn’t right. “I’ve replayed that moment in my mind a million times. It’s there every time I close my eyes, every time I so much as blink. It’s haunted me, an endless scream that I can’t escape. Every time I see it my hearts break all over again and the pain, oh the pain, I can’t breathe. There’s nowhere to run and it’s all around me and I can’t do anything to stop it. I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t. I lost you. You are everything and I lost you. I couldn’t go through that again. I wouldn’t survive it; I wouldn’t want too.” He didn’t even try to stop the tears. His eyes were red and his voice breaking the more he talked, and all of a sudden he looked every bit like the ancient being he was, all the years of his age becoming clear on his face. There was no mask, no bravado. Just terror and pain, indescribable pain.   
“Oh you stupid old fool.” Missy said, and a breath later she was wrapping her arms around him, surprised by how frail he felt, how weak. It was like he had lost a part of himself, like he hadn’t eaten or rested in a lifetime.  
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I love you so much and you were gone.” The Doctor sobbed as he let himself be held. It was a long moment before either of them wanted to move or say anything. It was only when Missy was sure he wouldn’t collapse that she let him go and stepped back.   
“It’s ok Doctor, I’m not going anywhere ever again.” Missy said, forcing a smile as she tried to hide her concern.   
“I’ve been trying everything. I don’t know what else to do.” The Doctor said with a shake of his head. Missy took his hand.  
“We’ll figure it out, together.” Missy said, repeating back to him the words he had said to her so many times. The Doctor nodded.  
“There’s one possibility. There’s a nexus point of paradoxical chrono energy. It’s been building for a while now. If we can tap into it, maybe we could use it somehow to stabilize the timeline?” The Doctor said, a light coming back to his eyes as he started to work the problem.   
“There’s a lot of ifs in there. But hey, I’ve worked with worse before. Where are we heading?” Missy asked as she led him to the control console. The Doctor flipped a switch, a reluctant look on his face.  
“I’ve been trying to avoid the place since all this started. It’s the vault Missy. We have to go back to the vault.”

“I knew you would come back here eventually.” A familiar voice said from the shadows. A second later, a handful of floating ball-like battle drones moved into the light…  
It had been easy enough to return to the vault, as easy as taking a trip anywhere else. In this timeline it had been over two decades since either of them had last been there. Since completing her rehabilitation of a thousand years of solitude, more or less, neither of them had been in any hurry to revisit a room they had both become intimately familiar with. In the end they had decided to keep it as an emergency sanctuary, a place of safety that only they and a handful of others new about. Or at least that was what Missy remembered. The other events of the vault, the ‘real’ events, were still a mystery to her, though she couldn’t deny that there was something else in the air when she had pulled open the doors. She had died in this spot once. Even if she couldn’t remember it, the knowledge that it had happened had added a sour note to all the happy memories she had of this place. She knew the Doctor had those same memories too, but he also had the memories of the original timeline. It most have been a storm of conflict for him coming back here, but he had done a good job of holding it all together. He had been entirely focused on carrying the portable energy cipher, the device that would absorb the paradoxical chrono energy and send it to the TARDIS. Once they had that, it was only a matter of figuring out how to use it to iron out a paradox that could rip the whole universe apart. Nothing too difficult, all things considered. The room itself showed no signs of any paradox-induced strangeness. All there had been was a layer of dust and a delay in the lights coming on.   
Then they had heard the voice.  
“That’s no possible. You shouldn’t be here.” The Doctor said, fighting back against his shock.  
“And you shouldn’t have played god with time!” The Shadow Architect said, each word soaked with fury. She took an unbalanced, awkward step towards them, the battle drones hovering at her sides.   
“Well at least this Architect still has that annoying better-than-you tone.” Missy said as her eyes narrowed. She had a begrudging respect for the Architect she knew, the one that was effectively her boss, but she knew right away this wasn’t her. The woman, or whatever she was, looked a mess. Her clothes were torn and blood stained, and her body looked like it had been ripped apart and sewn back together by a blind surgeon.   
“How are you even here?” The Doctor asked. He went to place the cipher down, but one of the drones lunged towards him.  
“Experimental time travel technology we had developed in our pursuits of you. I managed to activate it just as the reality shift was taking hold. I spent centuries being thrown around the time vortex, only to be spat out into a world where another version of me has accepted the lies you and the Mistress have worked so hard to weave. And look what has happened! The universe is on the verge of a full-on temporal collapse because of your actions! Don’t you see Doctor? This is exactly what I was trying to prevent.” The Architect spat, her eyes wide and twitching. There was something different about her then the last time the Doctor had seen her. As soon as he noticed it, he knew what it was. Madness clung to her like a warm blanket in a blizzard. She had been exposed to the vortex and to the mind twisting effects of the paradox for too long, and now her mind was shattering. It was a wonder she was even still functioning, her rage being the only thing that had sustained her. Now, it was the only thing she could focus on, a blind need to achieve some twisted form of justice that only she understood. She tilted her head slightly and the blasters on the battle drones powered up, linked to her by some kind of psychic connection.   
“Architect, this isn’t going to solve anything. Killing us won’t fix time, not now. You are ill. Let me help you. I can save you and put all this right, but you have to let me. I know how much it must hurt.” The Doctor said, his voice calm and full of empathy. The Architect shook, as if her entire body was considering his words and was rebelling against them. Her eyes glowed with anger.  
“No Doctor! No more of your lies! All you do is lie! Every word is a threat to the safety of the universe. Your very existence is an afront to order and justice!” The Architect said, but she struggled to get the words out, the idea of finally achieving the goal she had spent so long in pursuit of fighting with the suffering her body had already endured. She was breaking down, but every step into madness only made her more deranged and dangerous.   
“Oh do shut up already. If you’re trying to drag out the murder of someone than take it from a pro, you’re going about it the wrong way.” Missy balked, faking a yawn. As she did, she gave the Doctor a look. It was a look he knew all too well.  
“Missy don’t!” He shouted, but it was too late. She was always fast, but the attack drones saw her pull out the laser/sonic screwdriver before she even had a chance to fire it. A trio of blasts hit her, knocking her to the ground.   
“Justice! Let the sword of truth fall once again!” The Architect cried out as she turned back to the Doctor, her anger growing the more her body faltered. Her knees buckled, but she twitched her face, mentally ordering the drones to fire again. Only they never did. The drones turned uncertainly in the air, as if someone had pulled the plug momentarily on the power to their thrusters. The power to their blasters came and went, ominous glows that promised only death. Two of them misfired, sending burning bolts of energy into the wall of the vault as they tried to course correct.  
“Doctor! Sonic setting 12b-229K!” A voice came from behind them all, near where the doors were. The Doctor didn’t bother to waste time. He dropped the cipher and pulled out his screwdriver in a single fluid movement, mentally adjusting it to the setting as soon as his hand touched it. The invisible sonic frequencies slammed into the drones, boosting a signal that had already been assaulting their systems. It was too much. One by one, the drones exploded in a shower of pink flames and sparks, their burnt-out shells falling to the ground.   
“What?!” The deranged Architect screamed. A second later, a laser blast hit her. The Doctor gasped. He looked to his side, to the ground.  
“I may not remember it, but I never make the same mistake twice!” Missy said as she held out her hybrid screwdriver. Through the burn marks in her dress, a familiar looking armoured skin suit glistened in the light. Without waiting for the Architect to respond, Missy fired again, this time at full power. Even here in the paradox timeline, she had yet to finish the strange device, but it was complete enough. The full powered energy blast slammed into the Architect, without mercy and without resistance. Her entire form glowed for a moment as the energy broke down every bond in her body. There was a flash of light and a scream; a single, soul piercing shrill that was at once a sound of pain and relief. Then it was over, and the Shadow Architect was gone. All that remain was a pile of ash on the floor.   
Missy pushed herself up from the ground, wearing a dark and satisfied expression as she looked up at her screwdriver. The full powered blast had started an internal collapse of its energy core, judging by the small stream of smoke coming from the end of it, but right now the Doctor couldn’t care less about that. He rushed forward, pulling Missy into a hug before she even had a chance to think. He pulled back just enough to look at her, his mouth hanging open as he tried to choose which of a dozen things he wanted to say first. In the end it was Missy who choose for him. She pulled him into a kiss that said more than any of his words ever could. As she did she pulled his mind into hers, wrapping around it. For a single, brief moment, they were one.   
“So that was exhilarating.” Missy whispered breathily as she pulled back. The Doctor smiled.  
“Which part?” He teased before pointing at the under armour. “How did you know about the skin suit armour?” It was Missy’s turn to smile knowingly.  
“How else? The TARDIS knows how to pick out a good outfit.” She explained. “That was quick thinking, overloading the control frequencies for the drones.” She knew she was wrong the moment she saw the look on his face. The sound of footsteps took their attention, and they both looked to the entrance of the vault, and at the person walking into the room.   
“Actually, that was me. I’m handy in spots like that.” The thirteenth Doctor said as she came to a stop before them. “I think you two owe me an explanation.”


	2. Chapter 2

The atmosphere inside the vault was thicker than the clouds of Saturn. The very air itself seemed reluctant to move into the lungs of the three as they sat around a table, the tea they had made slowly going cold.   
The twelfth Doctor.  
The thirteenth Doctor.  
And Missy, smiling wildly to herself as she looked from one to the other.  
“So you finally decided to cross over to the other side. I must admit, I never pictured you as a blonde. Oh, we can have girl’s night! Have sleep overs and talk about boys and have pillow fights! I’m good with a pillow.” Missy said, unable to stop herself. She couldn’t help it. The difference between him and her was like chalk and cheese, and if she didn’t know any better it would be easy to believe that they were different people entirely.   
“How are you even here?” Twelve asked as he stared at his successor. Thirteen pulled something out of her jacket pocket. Both he and Missy recognised it instantly. It was the laser/sonic screwdriver Missy had been building, though this one was completely burnt out, little more than an empty husk now.  
“I found this in a secret compartment of the vault. There was enough residual psychconic-emotional energy to track the device’s progress through history. I was following the path through the vortex when reality shifted. I was stuck in space for ages before I managed to reboot the TARDIS to accommodate for the new timeline. Then it led me here, to this moment. You know what that means.” Thirteen explained, her words heavy. Twelve nodded.  
“Oh lighten up you two. It might be the end of the world but at least we’re together. And you know, there’s a bed over there…” Missy jumped in, though thirteen just looked at her like she was crazy. Well, a different type of crazy.  
“What is even going on here? How are you two together, like this? It’s a full-on Shakespearian romance and it makes no sense.” That made Missy sharpen up. She glanced at Twelve and found him sharing the same confused look as her. She leant forward in her chair.   
“You don’t remember this, do you?” Missy asked. Thirteen looked at her and then back to her other self. She shook her head.   
“Remember what?”  
The next half hour was heart breaking for all three of them, though in different ways. The truth had quickly emerged. Thirteen knew nothing about the secret relationship Twelve and Missy had forged, knew nothing of their struggles to keep it alive as the Shadow Proclamation led a fair chunk of the universe in an effort to stop them. Her face was filled with the kind of stunned look that only came when you knew something was true but still couldn’t bring yourself to believe it. The look soon gave way to one of sheer horror and anger as she listened to how Twelve had challenged time, breaking every one of its rules in order to save Missy, and in doing so putting the whole universe in jeopardy.  
“This is ridiculous. You can’t just go around changing time to suit you, not like this!” Thirteen said, putting her hands on her hips as she walked around in a small circle. It didn’t seem to be helping.   
“And you don’t remember anything?” Twelve asked. At the same time he reached out and held Missy’s hand. Thirteen shook her head as she watched the gesture.  
“I remember being here with my friend, trying to make her better. I remember being you and being proud of her. I remember the cybermen and Missy, my Missy. I remember her leaving and then I regenerated and that’s it. That’s what happened. There was no secret love, no alternate timeline. And certainly no universe ending paradox! This is, just, so irresponsible!” Thirteen said, trying to focus her thoughts and reactions. She shook her head over and over, but there was something else in her eyes besides all the bewilderment.  
“What is it? What aren’t you telling me? I may not be you, but you’re still me. I know you. There’s something you’re not telling us.” Twelve said, standing up and crossing over to her. Thirteen stared at him for a long moment, her guard still in place.  
“There’s a… doubt. One I’m not familiar with. I can hardly even conceptualize it, it’s so well hidden. It’s only when I look at the two of you, at that screwdriver, that I can even sense it.” Thirteen said. Twelve nodded.   
“Let me help you. Let me help us. Two consciousnesses are better than one, right?” Twelve asked compassionately. Even his successor couldn’t resist the kindness in his eyes, her own eyes. She nodded, and Twelve placed his hands at her temples.   
All it took was a second.   
“It’s a psychic block!” The two Doctors yelled at once as Twelve pulled back a fraction, his eyes going wide with understanding.   
“It all makes sense now!” He said as he glanced back at Missy, who was at the edge of her seat. She was trying to look indifferent, but her focus was clear for both the Doctors to see. “Someone has hidden your memories of this time. They’re there, I can feel it. I don’t know why, but if we can remove the block we can find out the truth. We might even be able to find a way to stabilizing the paradox and unite the two timelines!” Twelve said excitedly as he went to return his hands to Thirteen’s temples, but she pulled away.  
“No, no way. I can’t allow this to continue. The universe is starting to break down, and every attempt to force it into a new configuration is only going to hasten the collapse. We can’t let that happen. I can’t let this happen. The only safe path left is to put everything back to the way it was, the way history remembers it. I’m sorry you two, I really am, but this has to stop. You know it does.” Thirteen said, her face filled with empathy and sorrow but also a steel-hard determination. Twelve shook his head, his eyes growing angry.   
“I don’t accept that. I can’t and won’t accept that. Not after everything we’ve done and been through. We’ve come too far and suffered too much.”  
“Don’t threaten me, Doctor. You may have lost perspective but I haven’t. We have to put the universe first. Or one of us does at least.” Thirteen said, taking another step back.   
“I am putting the universe first! That’s what I’ve learnt, that’s what you’ve forgotten. Our relationship isn’t some side project while I save people, it is saving people! It’s showing the universe that even those lost in darkness can be found. We’ve always believed that but now, now we can show it. She wasn’t one of those born too evil; few really are. Missy fell to it, was forced to it, but she made herself better. She chose a better path, and in doing so did something incredible, something that no one, not even us at one stage, believed was possible. And you know what, yes, she made me better too, but it’s not a compromise, it’s not one or the other. It’s a new perspective entirely! And if we can just show people that, if we can just give people a small piece of that, of what we’ve found in this impossible connection, then it will create miracles, it will outshine the stars! Being with her, like this, it’s all I, all we, ever wanted, but it’s so much more than that, more than I ever expected.” Twelve said. He wasn’t angry any more. There was no room for anger, not when he let himself feel like this. He looked at Missy and smiled brightly, unashamedly, in a way that was only for her.   
“You really think it’s that important? Important enough to risk everything?” Thirteen asked as she breathed nervously, her hearts beating wildly, and inside her a hopeful flicker dared to burst into life.   
“Yes, everything.” Twelve said as he looked back to her. “I love her. There’s no price you can put on that.”  
“I…” Thirteen said, looking around the room as her mind raced. She couldn’t let this happen, there was too much at stake. But Twelve’s words, her words technically, there was something in them, something she couldn’t deny. The simple truth was, she wanted to believe him. She wanted to so much, but it just felt too much. Her head spun. “I don’t know about this. I don’t know if this is even possible. I…” Her voice trailed off, and she subconsciously took a step backwards to the vault’s door, to her original plan of resetting the timeline, the one that made sense. She just didn’t feel the same things that her counterpart did, no matter how much she wanted to, no matter how much his words had moved her.  
“Doctor.” A voice came from her side. Thirteen turned and saw Missy walking slowly towards her. There was a look on her face that she had never seen before.   
“Missy, I…” Thirteen said, not quite sure what she wanted to say but just being wary. Missy held out her hand. In it was the remains of the hybrid laser/sonic screwdriver she had used to destroy the deranged Shadow Architect. It had finally stopped smoking, but the end was still glowing.  
“I made this for you. I never got the chance to give it to you. Doctor I want…” Missy’s voice trailed off as Thirteen’s fingers brushed against her own as she took the screwdriver. It was the same screwdriver that she had in her pocket, the same one that had led her to this moment. Her hearts skipped a beat as Missy stroked her hand.  
“This doesn’t make any sense.” Thirteen said as Missy stepped closed to her. She was so close now, so close she could feel her breath on her face. Her head spun even faster as conflicting ideas waged inside her, making it hard to think about anything other than this moment. Missy smiled.  
“I know it doesn’t. Just trust me, if only for a moment.” Missy whispered as she leaned in closer before pausing, ever so close. Thirteen nodded, the confusion like a rampaging storm that threatened to consume everything.  
Missy’s lips pressed against hers softly. Her eyes closed and suddenly, nothing else mattered but the feeling of her touch. It was like an icy fire and the songs of angels, like a silk wrapped bolt of lightning right to the core of her mind. Right to the psychic block.   
Thirteen pulled back, gasping as her eyes went wide. Then she smiled.  
“Missy, oh Missy. How could I ever forget you?” Thirteen said as her memories returned. It wasn’t a full record; the chrono disturbance caused by multi regenerations being in the same moment saw to that. But she remembered enough. She remembered the important bits. Thirteen threw her arms around Missy and hugged her tight. And Missy hugged her back.   
“So it survived? We didn’t need the neural interfaces after all?” Twelve asked hopefully as he joined their side. Thirteen and Missy parted. Thirteen had a strange smile on her face, one that was equal parts joy and sorrow.   
“I’m sorry, but no. The moment is gone, even now with my memories restored. I don’t feel what you feel. It’s in the past for me. Just like Rose and River and all the rest. And the new version of Missy certainly doesn’t feel it.” She said, a few tears in her eyes as she remembered her recent conflict again the new Master.   
“So what’s this then?” Twelve asked as Missy took his arm and leaned against him. Thirteen smiled again and reached out, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.  
“Just a small piece, enough to create miracles and outshine the stars.” She said, causing both of them to smile. But she wasn’t through yet. “And get this. I know how to save us.”

It’s said that time is relentless. You can’t stop time, even when you can. You can’t prevent the ceaseless flow of one event into another, no matter how painful that may be. You can’t beat time. But sometimes, just sometimes, if you are very smart and three times as lucky, you can cheat it.   
Slowly and gently, Missy placed the burnt-out hybrid screwdriver in the secret compartment of the central containment area, then closed the panel. It was always pleasing to finally connect all the dots, like adding the finishing touches on a masterwork painting. Smiling to herself, she stepped out of the area and heading for the door of the vault, knowing this would be the last time she would ever be in this room. A moment later, Twelve and Thirteen joined her.   
“Are the sleeping beauties ok?” She asked. The two Doctors nodded.  
“They’ll be fine. Once the anaesthetic wears off…” Twelve begun.  
“…They’ll be back too normal. Won’t remember a thing.” Thirteen finished. Both of them smiled. Missy looked at each of them in turn, then rolled her eyes.   
“Nope, sorry, we’re not doing this. The twin thing is way too played out. You’re sure they won’t remember anything? Is there any leftover anaesthetic so I can forget you two did that?”  
“Yes, I’m quite certain they won’t remember.” Twelve said, glancing back into the room at the bed and sofa.  
“Pretty sure. After all, if the theory is right this has worked already.” Thirteen said, remembering her own moment of clarity spawned from Missy’s kiss.   
It had been a one in a trillion chance, though even that was underselling it.   
By combining the power of two time linked and displaced TARDISs, they had been able to channel the paradoxical-chrono energy. That alone hadn’t been enough though. They had needed one more element, one that had been in front of them right from the start; Missy’s Elysian Field generator. There had been a lot of complicated science going on after that, some of it they had made up on the fly, while some of it bordered on the sheer impossible or supernatural. The truth was they were shooting in the dark and hoping for the best, but it had somehow all worked out. And it had been brilliant.  
They couldn’t stay in the alternate timeline, but Thirteen had discovered a better way than fighting endless waves of reapers as the universe fell apart. The paradox energy was the key. But using it and the Elysian Field generator, they had managed to create what were essentially clones of themselves, but it was more than that, much more. The paradox clones were unlike any other Timelord. The process and the paradox energy had altered the way their bodies worked on a fundamental level resulting in all kinds of changes, but there was one that stood out amongst all the others. They couldn’t regenerate, at least not in the conventional way. Instead, the bodies of the clones were in a constant state of pseudo regeneration, constantly repairing themselves, and constantly slowly changing in a process that could take decades. It was a big change, a big sacrifice, but the trade-off was worth it: they would never lose their personalities, never lose their minds. They would always be them, and always have their feelings for each other.  
“It’s weird, stepping out of the limelight, although that said I do like the idea of being some kind of scary spectre. Been a while since I was the subject of a ghost story.” Missy said idly.   
“We’ll get you a haunted house and a sheet, the whole garb. I’ll even dress up with you.” Twelve said with a small laugh. He wrapped his arm around her waist and planted a small kiss on her forehead.   
“Aw, cute. That’s adorable, really.” Thirteen said as she looked at them, knowing full well her comments would annoy Missy. Some things didn’t change, even in situations like this. “How are you two feeling?”  
“Well its been a while since I’ve had to place a psychic block on myself.” Twelve said, looking back at the sofa where his other self, his original self, now lay in peaceful sleep. Moments ago they had said their last goodbyes to each other, the original counterparts happy in the knowledge that they had succeeded in their goal, even if they wouldn’t be able to see it. It had to be done though. It was the only way to ensure the continuity of the timeline. This way, the originals would go on to live the events that history had already recorded, the history that had led to Thirteen finding the destroyed hybrid screwdriver and set her on a path that would culminate in her saving her previous self, completing the cycle. It maintained the flow of time, secured the fixed points in history, and freed Twelve and Missy to finally live their lives, even if they were now strange, unique paradox twins.   
“Take it easy. That goes for both of you. There’s no telling how this might work out.” Thirteen said, though she couldn’t contain her happiness seeing the joy the two were sharing now.   
“Doctor’s orders, huh?” Missy said, repeating one of her favourite jokes. Thirteen nodded, but then turned serious.   
“What are you two going to do now? I’m not quite sure how we proceed. This is a whole other type of dangerous.” She said solemnly.   
“Well we’re back to a point before I even first peaked ahead, way before the Shadow Proclamation found out about us. I think being careful is a safe bet, at least for a while. But not forever. I’m still the Doctor after all, though it’s easier to step back a bit knowing you’re out there.” Twelve said uncertainly. Everything was happening so fast now, and there was no guide for things like this.  
“You’ll have to be careful. We both will. If anyone finds out about you, I’m not sure what will happen. I don’t think they universe is ready for two full time Doctors running around, let alone two Masters. Promise you’ll be safe. Or as safe as you can be.” Thirteen said. Twelve nodded.  
“We’ll keep our heads down, at least until we can convince the universe what we have is the real thing, that we’re the real thing. It’ll make travelling more interesting if nothing else, though I think I might also settle down a little too, after I’ve visited Bill and Nardole. There’s unfinished business there, especially with how everything turns out. I’d like to do that. Afterwards, I don’t know. I think I might become a curator for a while. I guess it’s the next best thing to actually seeing history in person.” Twelve said casually. There was an endless list of possibilities before them now, more than they could imagine.   
“Don’t start planning out a little farm and a family and all that nonsense. I have no intention of going quietly into the night. Now shadowy space ninja, that could be fun.” Missy jumped in, though there was a twinkle in her eye, and in her mind she was already imagining going back to her beach. The two Doctors laughed.   
“What about you? What will you do now?” Twelve asked. Thirteen shrugged.   
“Keep travelling. I’ve also got to get back to the fam. There’s always more adventures to have, mysteries to discover, vague threats about one’s hidden past to solve. You know how it is. I’ll keep in touch with you though. We’ll go for tea or something.” She said, causing Twelve to nod. He held out his hand.  
“Sounds like a plan. Doctor, it’s been an honour. Thank you for everything. If you ever need us, all you have to do is call.” Thirteen took his hand and shook it.  
“Doctor, the honour has been mine. Its not often you see true happy endings. To paraphrase another Doctor, you are free to make whatever kind of future you want now, so make it a good one.” The two Doctors shook hands heartily and smiled brightly at each other. Thirteen then shook reached out and took Missy’s hand too, her smile growing even brighter. Then she turned and pulled shut the doors of the vault. Within a few hours Nardole would be knocking on the door, waking up the original Twelfth Doctor and Missy and setting history back on course. By then she and the others would be far away from here; the same paradox energy that had created the twins had also created a second TARDIS, one that was more than happy to be the pair’s escort into hiding.   
“Doctor, there’s something I wanted to say.” Missy’s voice called out from behind her. She turned, seeing Missy standing in the room while Twelve waited for her near the stairs.   
“What is it?” Thirteen asked, concern. Missy dropped her eyes to the floor for a moment, a look of shame on her face.  
“When the paradox energy filtered through the TARDIS, it restored my memories from the original timeline. I remembered what I had seen from when the Doctor, my Doctor, looked ahead in time.”   
“You don’t have to say anything. It’s in the past for me.” Thirteen said, trying to reassure her. Missy looked at her, a hint of tears in her eyes.  
“No I do, I really do. I’m sorry Doctor, for not coming back. I, I failed you. I failed myself. I should have been there with you, at the end. I wish I was.” She said, remembering how her future self had left the Doctor to face the cybermen by himself, resulting in them both regenerating alone. That would never happen for her now, but that did little to ease the weight she carried. Thirteen reached up and brushed her thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear that had come lose. Missy’s eyes matched her own, confused at the look of joy on her face.  
“You really have changed, haven’t you?” Thirteen said softly, before moving a hand to Missy’s chest. She placed her free hand to the middle of her own chest. “Missy, I always knew you were going to come back. I sensed it, from the moment you left. You had already made the choice, you just didn’t get the chance to act on it. You were always with me, in here. I never stopped believing in you, and I never blamed you. Ever. You have nothing to feel bad about, I promise.” Missy looked down at the hand over her hearts. When she looked back, the only thing that matched the smile on her face were the tears of happiness running down her cheeks. Thirteen pulled her into a hug. She needed it, needed it more that she would ever admit.  
“Thank you.” Missy whispered. “Thank you, Theta.”  
After a moment the two separated. Missy stepped back, collecting herself. She gave Thirteen one last nod and went to turn, but then a thought crossed her mind.   
“Oh Doctor, the me that you know, the future me. He still has my memories of this place, buried inside his mind somewhere. Don’t give up on him. Maybe one day he might come back to you. I hope so.” Missy said. It was Thirteen’s turn to nod, but she didn’t say anything. The new master was fully in the dark side now, but if this whole event had taught her anything, it was to always look out for the impossible hope. With one last smile, she turned back to the vault’s doors to make sure they were properly locked. Missy returned to the Doctor, her Doctor, finally letting herself look forward to the future. He offered his arm as she approached, and she gladly took it. Together, they made their way up the stairs away from the room they had spent so long in, the room that had seen the rise of love and the fall of the heroic. The vault had been a home for both of them for so long, but it had also been a prison. The time had come to let it go, once and for all. Neither of them were in any hurry to look back.  
“So where do you want to go first?” Missy asked as they walked slowly, together. She could practically hear the sound of the ‘paradox TARDIS’, already humming excitedly at their approach. Twelve squeezed her hand and smiled.   
“Wherever we want. As long as we’re together.”


End file.
